Introduction
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a comprehensive cloud platform offering over 200 fully-featured services from data centers globally. This cheat sheet provides a practical overview of core AWS services, their primary use cases, key features, and how they interconnect to build scalable, reliable cloud solutions.
Compute Services
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) | Resizable virtual servers | Web applications, development environments, enterprise applications | Instance types, AMIs, auto scaling, spot instances |
| Lambda | Serverless compute service | Microservices, event processing, file processing | Event-driven, pay-per-use, automatic scaling |
| ECS (Elastic Container Service) | Container orchestration service | Microservices, batch processing, CI/CD | Task definitions, service discovery, load balancing |
| EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) | Managed Kubernetes service | Container orchestration, microservices architectures | Kubernetes control plane, cluster autoscaling |
| Fargate | Serverless compute for containers | Containerized applications, microservices | No server management, pay-per-task |
| Batch | Batch computing service | High-throughput batch jobs, data processing | Job scheduling, compute environment management |
| Lightsail | Simple virtual private servers | Small websites, dev/test environments | Easy setup, low fixed pricing |
| Elastic Beanstalk | PaaS for web applications | Web applications, developer environments | Platform management, deployment automation |
| App Runner | Fully managed container service | Web applications, APIs | Automated deployments, built-in WAF integration |
EC2 Instance Types Overview
| Family | Optimized For | Examples | Common Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| T | Burstable performance | t3.micro, t4g.medium | Development, small databases, web servers |
| M | General purpose | m5.large, m6g.xlarge | Application servers, gaming servers, small databases |
| C | Compute | c5.large, c6g.xlarge | Batch processing, scientific modeling, gaming, video encoding |
| R | Memory | r5.large, r6g.xlarge | Memory-intensive applications, in-memory databases |
| P | GPU | p3.2xlarge, p4d.24xlarge | Machine learning, high-performance computing |
| I | Storage | i3.large, i3en.xlarge | High-speed storage, data warehousing |
| G | Graphics | g4dn.xlarge | Video rendering, 3D visualization |
| X | Memory intensive | x1.16xlarge, x2gd.medium | SAP HANA, big data processing |
Storage Services
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 (Simple Storage Service) | Object storage service | Static website hosting, backup, data lakes | Eleven 9’s durability, lifecycle policies, versioning |
| EBS (Elastic Block Store) | Block storage for EC2 | Database storage, application hosting | SSD/HDD options, snapshots, encryption |
| EFS (Elastic File System) | Managed NFS file system | Content management, web serving, data sharing | Elastic capacity, shared access, regional |
| FSx | Managed file systems | Windows workloads, HPC, machine learning | Windows, Lustre, NetApp ONTAP, OpenZFS options |
| S3 Glacier | Low-cost archive storage | Long-term backups, compliance archives | Deep Archive, Flexible Retrieval, Instant Retrieval |
| Storage Gateway | Hybrid cloud storage | Cloud backup, disaster recovery | File, Volume, Tape Gateway types |
| Snow Family | Physical data transport | Large data migrations, edge computing | Snowcone, Snowball, Snowmobile options |
| Backup | Centralized backup service | Cross-region backup, compliance | Policy-based, centralized management |
S3 Storage Classes Comparison
| Storage Class | Availability | Retrieval Time | Min Storage Duration | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | 99.99% | Milliseconds | None | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | 99.9% | Milliseconds | None | Data with unknown/changing access patterns |
| S3 Standard-IA | 99.9% | Milliseconds | 30 days | Infrequently accessed data |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 99.5% | Milliseconds | 30 days | Infrequently accessed, non-critical data |
| S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval | 99.9% | Milliseconds | 90 days | Archive data needing immediate access |
| S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval | 99.99% | Minutes to hours | 90 days | Archive data with flexible retrieval times |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 99.99% | Hours | 180 days | Long-term archive data, rarely accessed |
Database Services
| Service | Type | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| RDS (Relational Database Service) | Managed relational databases | Web applications, ERP, CRM | Multi-AZ, read replicas, automated backups |
| Aurora | MySQL/PostgreSQL-compatible | Enterprise applications, SaaS applications | 5x MySQL performance, distributed storage |
| DynamoDB | NoSQL key-value & document | Mobile apps, gaming, IoT | Millisecond latency, auto scaling, serverless |
| ElastiCache | In-memory caching | Real-time applications, gaming leaderboards | Redis or Memcached compatible |
| Neptune | Graph database | Recommendation engines, fraud detection | Property graph & RDF support |
| DocumentDB | MongoDB-compatible document database | Content management, user profiles | MongoDB compatibility, scalable |
| Keyspaces | Apache Cassandra-compatible | Time-series data, industrial equipment maintenance | Cassandra compatibility, serverless |
| Timestream | Time series database | IoT applications, DevOps monitoring | Automated data lifecycle management |
| QLDB (Quantum Ledger Database) | Ledger database | Financial records, supply chain | Immutable, cryptographically verifiable |
| Redshift | Data warehouse | Business intelligence, analytics | Columnar storage, Redshift Spectrum |
Database Comparison
| Database Type | AWS Service | Best For | Not Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relational | RDS, Aurora | Structured data, ACID transactions | Unstructured data, horizontal scaling |
| Key-Value | DynamoDB | High-throughput, low-latency applications | Complex queries, joins |
| Document | DocumentDB | Semi-structured data, flexible schema | Complex transactions, joins |
| In-memory | ElastiCache | Caching, session management | Persistent storage, complex queries |
| Graph | Neptune | Connected data, complex relationships | Simple structured data |
| Time Series | Timestream | IoT data, metrics, events | General purpose applications |
| Ledger | QLDB | Auditable history, compliance | High-throughput OLTP |
| Columnar | Redshift | Data warehousing, analytics | OLTP workloads |
Networking & Content Delivery
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) | Isolated network infrastructure | Multi-tier applications, regulatory compliance | Subnets, route tables, NACLs, security groups |
| CloudFront | Content delivery network (CDN) | Static and dynamic content delivery, video streaming | Edge locations, field level encryption |
| Route 53 | DNS service | Domain registration, DNS routing | Health checks, routing policies, domain registration |
| API Gateway | API management service | RESTful APIs, WebSocket APIs | Request/response transformations, authentication |
| Direct Connect | Dedicated network connection | Hybrid environments, high-throughput workloads | Private connectivity, reduced network costs |
| Transit Gateway | Network transit hub | Connecting multiple VPCs, centralized network architecture | Simplified network architecture, centralized routing |
| Global Accelerator | Network layer service | Global applications, gaming, IoT | Anycast IP addresses, health checking |
| VPN | Virtual private network | Secure remote access, site-to-site connectivity | Site-to-Site VPN, Client VPN |
| App Mesh | Service mesh | Microservices monitoring, control | Service-to-service communication control |
| Elastic Load Balancing | Load distribution service | High-availability applications | ALB, NLB, GLB types |
Load Balancer Types
| Type | Full Name | Best For | Protocol Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALB | Application Load Balancer | HTTP/HTTPS traffic, microservices | HTTP, HTTPS, gRPC, WebSockets |
| NLB | Network Load Balancer | TCP/UDP traffic, extreme performance | TCP, UDP, TLS |
| GLB | Gateway Load Balancer | Third-party virtual appliances | GENEVE protocol (layer 3/4) |
| CLB | Classic Load Balancer (legacy) | EC2-Classic networks | TCP, SSL/TLS, HTTP, HTTPS |
Integration Services
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQS (Simple Queue Service) | Fully managed message queuing | Application decoupling, workload processing | Standard and FIFO queues, dead-letter queues |
| SNS (Simple Notification Service) | Pub/sub messaging | Application alerts, mobile notifications | Topics, subscriptions, push notifications |
| EventBridge (formerly CloudWatch Events) | Serverless event bus | Event-driven architectures, application integration | Rules, targets, event buses |
| MQ | Managed message broker | Enterprise messaging, existing application migration | ActiveMQ and RabbitMQ support |
| Step Functions | Workflow orchestration service | Business processes, data processing pipelines | Visual workflow editor, error handling |
| AppFlow | Integration service | SaaS application integration | Salesforce, Zendesk integrations |
| AppSync | GraphQL interface | Mobile/web app data synchronization | Real-time updates, offline sync |
Management & Monitoring
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| CloudWatch | Monitoring and observability | Application performance monitoring, resource utilization | Metrics, logs, alarms, dashboards |
| CloudTrail | API activity monitoring | Security analysis, compliance, troubleshooting | API call history, log file integrity validation |
| Config | Resource configuration tracking | Compliance auditing, change management | Configuration history, compliance rules |
| Systems Manager | Resource management | Patch management, automation, parameter store | Run Command, State Manager, Parameter Store |
| Trusted Advisor | Best practice recommendations | Cost optimization, security improvement | Performance, security, cost optimization checks |
| Organizations | Account management | Multi-account strategies, centralized management | Service control policies, consolidated billing |
| Control Tower | Landing zone setup | Enterprise cloud setup, governance | Account factory, guardrails |
| CloudFormation | Infrastructure as code | Environment provisioning, resource standardization | Templates, stacks, change sets |
| Service Catalog | Service portfolio management | Self-service provisioning, compliance | Portfolios, products, constraints |
| Cost Explorer | Cost management | Cost analysis, budgeting | Reports, forecasting, rightsizing recommendations |
| License Manager | Software license management | License compliance, optimization | License rules, usage tracking |
| Managed Grafana | Visualization service | Operational dashboards, metrics visualization | Grafana compatibility, built-in data sources |
| Managed Service for Prometheus | Monitoring for container environments | Kubernetes monitoring, microservices monitoring | Prometheus compatibility, long-term storage |
Security, Identity & Compliance
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAM (Identity & Access Management) | Identity management | Access control, permission management | Users, groups, roles, policies |
| Cognito | Customer identity management | User signup/signin, social identity federation | User pools, identity pools |
| GuardDuty | Threat detection service | Security monitoring, malicious activity detection | Anomaly detection, automated response |
| Inspector | Vulnerability assessment | Security assessments, compliance verification | Network accessibility scans, host assessments |
| Macie | Data security & privacy | PII detection, data classification | Automated sensitive data discovery |
| Security Hub | Security posture management | Centralized security view, compliance checks | Integration with security tools, automated checks |
| WAF (Web Application Firewall) | Web traffic filtering | Cross-site scripting protection, geo-restrictions | Rules, IP filtering, rate limiting |
| Shield | DDoS protection | Protection against network/transport layer attacks | Standard (free), Advanced (paid) |
| Firewall Manager | Security policy management | Centralized rule management | AWS WAF, Shield, Security Groups management |
| KMS (Key Management Service) | Encryption key management | Data encryption, cryptographic operations | Customer master keys, key rotation |
| CloudHSM | Hardware security modules | Regulatory compliance, cryptographic operations | FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation |
| Secrets Manager | Secrets management | Database credentials, API keys | Secret rotation, secure storage |
| Certificate Manager | SSL/TLS certificate management | HTTPS security, certificate provisioning | Certificate issuance, renewal, deployment |
| Directory Service | Managed Active Directory | Windows workload integration, LDAP authentication | AWS Managed Microsoft AD, Simple AD |
| IAM Identity Center (formerly SSO) | Single sign-on service | Centralized access management | SAML integration, permission sets |
| Artifact | Compliance documentation | Audit support, compliance verification | On-demand access to compliance reports |
Analytics & Big Data
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athena | Interactive query service | Log analysis, ad-hoc queries | Serverless, SQL, pay-per-query |
| EMR (Elastic MapReduce) | Big data processing | Data transformation, machine learning | Hadoop, Spark, HBase |
| Kinesis | Real-time data streaming | Application monitoring, analytics, IoT | Data Streams, Data Firehose, Video Streams |
| QuickSight | Business intelligence | Dashboards, visualizations | ML-powered insights, embedded analytics |
| Glue | ETL service | Data preparation, schema discovery | Data Catalog, crawlers, ETL jobs |
| Lake Formation | Data lake service | Centralized data lake management | Secure data sharing, fine-grained access control |
| OpenSearch Service (formerly Elasticsearch) | Search and analytics | Log analytics, application monitoring | Full-text search, visualizations |
| Data Exchange | Data marketplace | Data acquisition, monetization | Third-party data sets, subscription management |
| Data Pipeline | Data orchestration | Data-driven workflows | Task dependencies, activity scheduling |
| MSK (Managed Streaming for Kafka) | Managed Kafka service | Stream processing, metrics collection | Kafka compatibility, serverless option |
Machine Learning & AI
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| SageMaker | End-to-end ML platform | Model training/deployment, MLOps | Notebooks, automated ML, deployment options |
| Comprehend | Natural language processing | Sentiment analysis, entity recognition | Language detection, key phrase extraction |
| Rekognition | Image/video analysis | Object detection, facial analysis | Image moderation, celebrity recognition |
| Polly | Text-to-speech | Accessibility features, interactive voice response | Natural-sounding voices, SSML support |
| Transcribe | Speech-to-text | Call analytics, content transcription | Real-time transcription, medical transcription |
| Translate | Machine translation | Content localization, cross-language communication | Neural machine translation, batch translation |
| Lex | Conversational interfaces | Chatbots, voice assistants | NLU, dialog management |
| Kendra | Enterprise search | Document search, knowledge bases | Natural language queries, semantic search |
| Personalize | Recommendation engine | Product recommendations, content personalization | Real-time recommendations, A/B testing |
| Forecast | Time-series forecasting | Inventory planning, resource allocation | AutoML forecasting, what-if analysis |
| Textract | Document text extraction | Form processing, document digitization | OCR, form extraction, table extraction |
| DeepRacer | Reinforcement learning | ML education, autonomous racing | 3D racing simulator, competitions |
| Bedrock | Foundation models | Generative AI applications | Foundation models APIs, guardrails |
Developer Tools
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeCommit | Source control service | Code storage, version control | Git repositories, pull requests |
| CodeBuild | Build service | Compile code, run tests | Environment customization, build specifications |
| CodeDeploy | Deployment service | Application deployment automation | Blue/green deployments, rollbacks |
| CodePipeline | CI/CD service | Release automation, workflow orchestration | Pipeline visualization, integrations |
| CodeStar | Project management | End-to-end development projects | Project templates, team management |
| Cloud9 | Cloud IDE | Remote development, pair programming | Collaborative editing, terminal access |
| X-Ray | Application tracing | Request tracing, performance analysis | Service maps, trace analysis |
| CodeArtifact | Artifact repository | Package management, dependency control | Maven, npm, PyPI, NuGet support |
| CodeGuru | Code review and profiling | Code quality, performance optimization | ML-based recommendations, profiling |
| Amplify | Web/mobile app hosting | Full-stack applications, frontend hosting | CI/CD, authentication, storage |
| AppConfig | Feature flagging | Feature deployment, A/B testing | Staged rollouts, configuration profiles |
Mobile & Front-End Web
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amplify | Mobile and web app development | Full-stack applications, frontend hosting | Authentication, storage, APIs |
| AppSync | GraphQL API service | Real-time applications, offline-first apps | Real-time updates, offline data sync |
| Device Farm | App testing service | Cross-device testing, browser compatibility | Physical devices, automation |
| Location Service | Location-based service | Mapping applications, asset tracking | Maps, geocoding, routing |
| Pinpoint | Customer engagement service | Marketing campaigns, targeted messaging | Segmentation, analytics, personalization |
IoT Services
| Service | Description | Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| IoT Core | IoT connectivity service | Device connection, message processing | MQTT/HTTP protocols, authentication |
| IoT Analytics | IoT data analysis | Operational insights, predictive maintenance | Data collection, preprocessing, storage |
| IoT Events | Event detection service | Equipment monitoring, process notifications | Event detection, alert notifications |
| IoT SiteWise | Industrial IoT service | Industrial equipment monitoring | Asset modeling, data collection |
| IoT Greengrass | Edge computing | Local processing, offline operation | Lambda at the edge, local messaging |
| IoT FleetWise | Vehicle data collection | Fleet management, vehicle diagnostics | Standardized data collection, transformation |
| IoT TwinMaker | Digital twin service | Virtual representations of physical assets | 3D visualization, real-time updates |
Serverless Services Ecosystem
| Category | Services |
|---|---|
| Compute | Lambda, Fargate |
| Storage | S3, DynamoDB |
| API Management | API Gateway, AppSync |
| Integration | EventBridge, SQS, SNS, Step Functions |
| Developer Tools | SAM, Amplify, Cloud9 |
| Monitoring | CloudWatch, X-Ray |
| Database | DynamoDB, Aurora Serverless |
Common Solutions Architecture Patterns
Web Application Hosting
Components: EC2 or Elastic Beanstalk, ALB, RDS, ElastiCache, CloudFront
Architecture:
- Route 53 for DNS routing
- CloudFront as CDN for static assets
- Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic
- EC2 instances in Auto Scaling Group for application tier
- RDS for database tier
- ElastiCache for session storage or caching
Microservices Architecture
Components: ECS/EKS, API Gateway, DynamoDB, SNS/SQS, Lambda
Architecture:
- API Gateway as the entry point for service requests
- ECS/EKS for containerized microservices
- DynamoDB for data storage
- SNS/SQS for service communication
- Lambda for event processing
Data Lake Architecture
Components: S3, Glue, Athena, Redshift, QuickSight
Architecture:
- S3 as central data repository
- Kinesis for real-time data ingestion
- Glue for cataloging and ETL
- Athena for interactive queries
- Redshift for data warehousing
- QuickSight for visualization
Event-Driven Architecture
Components: EventBridge, Lambda, SNS, SQS, Step Functions
Architecture:
- EventBridge to capture and route events
- Lambda for event processing
- SNS for fan-out pattern
- SQS for decoupling components
- Step Functions for complex workflows
AWS Regions & Availability Zones
- Region: Geographic area containing multiple Availability Zones
- Availability Zone (AZ): Isolated locations within a region, connected with low-latency links
- Local Zone: Extension of a region closer to end users
- Wavelength Zone: Infrastructure for edge computing with 5G networks
- Outpost: AWS infrastructure deployed on-premises
Multi-Region Design Considerations
- Data residency and compliance
- Disaster recovery and business continuity
- Latency and performance
- Regional service availability
Multi-AZ Design Considerations
- High availability
- Fault tolerance
- Service-specific multi-AZ capabilities
- Data replication strategies
AWS Pricing Models
| Model | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| On-Demand | Pay for what you use | Variable workloads, short-term projects |
| Reserved Instances | 1 or 3-year commitment | Steady-state workloads |
| Savings Plans | Commitment to spend | Mixed workloads across services |
| Spot Instances | Bid for unused capacity | Fault-tolerant, flexible workloads |
| Dedicated Hosts | Physical servers dedicated to you | Compliance, licensing requirements |
Cost Optimization Strategies
- Right-sizing: Choosing the appropriate instance size
- Purchasing options: Reserved Instances, Savings Plans
- Monitoring and analyzing spend with Cost Explorer
- Implementing auto-scaling based on demand
- Using S3 storage classes appropriately
- Implementing lifecycle policies for data
- Using AWS Graviton (ARM-based) instances for better price-performance
AWS Well-Architected Framework
| Pillar | Focus | Key Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Operational Excellence | Operations and monitoring | Infrastructure as code, observability, automation |
| Security | Data and infrastructure protection | Identity management, detection, infrastructure protection |
| Reliability | System recovery and availability | Fault isolation, backup/restore, scaling, testing |
| Performance Efficiency | Resource optimization | Compute solutions, data storage, architecture, trade-offs |
| Cost Optimization | Avoid unnecessary costs | Right-sizing, elasticity, pricing models, optimization |
| Sustainability | Minimizing environmental impact | Efficient resource usage, demand alignment, software efficiency |